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Elbaum's World 99: The Weight of Self-Expectation šŸ‹ļøā€ā™€ļø

Published about 1 year agoĀ ā€¢Ā 1 min read

The Weight of Self-Expectation šŸ‹ļøā€ā™€ļø

I've been thinking lately about how burdensome it can feel to not do the things that I say I want to do.

Some of us want to lose weight. Others imagine learning a new language. For me, there are a few things I said I wanted to accomplish while self-employed that haven't happened yet. And it's been over a year.

For a long time, my version of "losing weight" has been building a SaaS (software as a service, i.e. web app that you pay for), and over the past few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that the only real way to get out from under the burden of letting myself down is to take regular action towards whatever the thing in question is.

In my case, that has looked like daily (M-F) progress building my first app idea. Even if the task something simple like tweaking a color or some text, I do it. Some progression is better than none, and, more importantly, I'm consistently taking steps that reflect the person I say I want to be.

If this struggle resonates with you, then ask yourself, What's the simplest thing I can do today to make forward progress?

P.S. - If this trend continues, then I'll be able to share the app idea with you next time. šŸ˜‰


Pete's Picks āœ…

  1. What I'm Reading: I started The Obstacle is the Way and have really enjoyed it. I've been familiar with Stoicism for a while and have had this book on my shelf for a couple years at this point, but have never made the time to pick it up. The idea that our perceptions and actions are in our control (and that a lot of other things aren't) is always a helpful reminder.
  2. What I'm Watching: I recently picked back up on two series that I never finished: American Crime Story: Impeachment and Greatest Events of WWII in Colour. Coincidentally, both are related to American history. The former is best for entertainment, the latter for learning something.
  3. What I'm Listening To: Shaan Puri is one of my favorite people on the Internet and a co-host of My First Million. He happened to appear on two other pods this week, both of which were very entertaining.

Some Recent Videos šŸŽ„

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1 Year as a Self-Employed Developer - Key Takeaways

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Cheers,

Peter

Hi, Iā€™m a creator

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